Race-game apparatus.



R. M. BRENNER.

RACEIGAME AfEPARAVTuS. APPLICATION FILED APR. 7. I9I6.

1,203,474, Patented 001. 31,1916.

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R. M. BRENNER.

RACEl GAME APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED APIIJ. |916.

1,203,474. Patented OCI. 31', 1916.v

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ECHARD MORIS BRENNER, OE PLISADE, NEW JERSEY.

Raonveaivin APPARATUS.

Application led Apri17, 1916. Seriai No. 89,562.

T0 all 107mm t may concern j Be it known that I, RICHARD M. BRENNER, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Palisade, in the countyof Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented .a new and ImprovedRace-Game Apparatus,

of which the following is a full, clear,y and exact description.

iThe invention relates to race game apparatus such as shown anddescribed in the Letters Patent of the United States, No. 1,011,563,granted to me on December 12, 1911.

The object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedrace game apparatus for use in pleasure resorts, exh1b1- tion groundsand other places, and arranged to enable a number of playerssimultaneously to manipulate racing objects such as figures representinghorses, for instance,

with a view to cause such racing objects to y travel over differenttracks thereby simulating a race, the winning of which is solelydependent on the skill of the players.

1n order to accomplish the desired result, use is made of a plurality ofracing tables, one arranged alongside the other and adapted tomoveforward and backward independent one of the other, and racing objects,one foreach racing table and placed on the rear end of the said racingtables and remaining stationary thereon during the forward strokes ofthe racing tables and to travel forwardly during the return strokesofthe said racing tables. Y

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in whichsimilar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all theviews.

. Figure 1 is a plan View of the race game apparatus; Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of the same with parts in section, on. the line 2 2 of Fig. 3,Fig. 3 is a sectional plan View of the same on the line-3 3 of Fig. 2;Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevation of the barrier and startern and themechanism for operating the same, parts being shown in section; Fig. 5is an enlarged inverted plan view of one of the racing objects; Fig. 6is an enlarged sectional plan View of two adjacent stopping devices forthe racing objects at the forward ends of the racing tables and alsoshowing diagrammatically the con- Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Get. 31, 1916.

nection with the annunciator; Fig. 'l'y is a sectional side elevation ofa portion of the race game apparatus in whidh the racing tables areactuated by electric motors; Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic View of the same;and

` Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional side elevation of the clutch mechanismfor stopping the movement of the tables after a racing object hasreached the goal. y

\ The race game apparatusis mounted on a suitable support 10, preferablyin the form of a box having an-open top 11 provided with longitudinallyextending partitions 12 dividing the open top infto spaces 13 in whichare mounted a plurality of longitudinally extending narrow racing tables14, over which are adapted to travel racing objects 15 such as figuresrepresenting horses and jockeys or the like, as plainly indicated inFigs. 1, 2 and 5. The racingobjects 15 start simultaneously from therearends 16 of the tablesyg14 and finish at the forward ends 17 oftliex'lsaid tables. The several taf sufces to describe but one indetail. lEachy table 14 is supported on sets of parallel links 20having/their' upper pivots 21 at tachedto the under side of the table14while the lower pivots 22 adjustably engage the longitudinally extendingslots 23 formedjin the sides of the support orstand 10. The links 2O areadjusted so that they stand in an approximately vertical position at thetime the table 14 is at the end of its forward stroke while the .links20 swing downward and rearward during the return stroke of the table 14,so that on the forward stroke the table 14 moves forward and upward andduring the return stroke moves downward starting end 16 toward thefinishing end 17 4The speed rat which the tables 14 move` forward andbackward is controlled by a number of players corresponding to thenumber of the tables vso that' each player` controls the Vspeed of atable, and hence the result of the race depends solely upon theski1l*==and judgment of each player for the I reason 'that if the playermoves his racing table at too slow a speed the racing object will moveforward too slow to win the race, while if'the player moves his racintable too fast and becomes excited the raclng objects are not liable tomove forward at `all but, owing to the-excessive vibration created inmoving the table too fast, commence to dance or fall and thus are takenout of the race. 1

In order to accomplish the desired result, the under side of each racingtable 14 is provided near its forward end with a depending bracketconnected by a pitman 31 with a wrist pin 32 held on a beveled gearwheel 33, the shaft 34 of which is j ournaled in asuitable bearing 35attached to the stand 10. The bevel gear wheel 33 is in mesh with apinion 36 secured. on the forward end of a shaft 37 journaled insuitable bearings 38 attached to the stand 10, and the rear end of thisshaft 37 is provided with a pinion 39 in mesh with a bevel gear wheel 40secured at the .bearing 47 attached to the stand 10, and the upper endlof the shaft is journaled in the top 11. On the upper end of the shaft46 is secured a crank disk 48 having Aa. crank handle 49 under thecontrol of a player to enable the latter to turn the shaft 46 andconsequently the gearing described so that the pitman 31 imparts aforward and back- Ward traveling motion to the table 14. The

several disks 48 are arranged one alongside the other at the front ofthe'top 11 and are marked with consecutive numerals or similar lndlcatmgcharacters, as plalnly shown in Fig. 1, to distinguish the several racetracks formed by the racing tables 14. Immediately in the. rear of thedisk are arrangedI signs 50 having corresponding numerals, thusindicating which racing table a .corresponding player is operating atthe time.

In order to control the speed. of the return and downward movement ofeach racing table 14, use is made of a spring 60 secured at one end to abracket 61 attached to Vthe under side of the corresponding table 14.The other end Vof the spring 60 is attached to a screw rod 62 mounted toscrew in a nut 63 attached to the forward end of the stand 10. Theoperator on screwing the screw rod 62 inward or outward can decrease orlncrease the tension of the spring 60 so veled at their rear ends to apoint. Each of t e racing horses 15 has its fore legs 72 attched to afront plate 73 provided with tapering side edges terminating at thefront in a point (see Fig. 5), so that the said plates 73 oncoming incontact with the pointed rear end of an obstruction 70 readily deflectthe race horse without danger of the race horse being turned over on itsside. The rear legs 74 vof the race horse 15 are preferably mounted tovrswing in a lateral direction on vertical pivots 75, and springs 76 areprovided to hold the rear legs 74 1n normal position. By the arrangementdescribed, the rear legs 74 are free to swing sidewise so that in case arace horse 15 bumps against one of the obstructions then a rear leg 74is free to swing outward (see dotted lines in Fig. 5) thus increasinglthe area of the supporting base of the rce horse an'd preventing thesame from toppling over in case of a forcible impact of the race horsewith an obstruction 70. By reference to.Fig. 2, it will be noticed thatthe top surfaces of the tables14 are below the partitions 12 to preventone race horse from passinor off its table onto an adjacent table. Itwlll also be noticed lthat by the arrangement described the race horsesduring their forward travel over the tables 14 are properly deflected onstriking an obstruction 70 Without causing the race horse to toppleover. It will further be noticed that by having the hump 71the playerwill ex perience considerable diiiculty in safely getting the race horseover this hump. It `will further be noticed that by the arrangementdescribed the race horses although they have practically a uniform startare Aliable to be more or less retarded in their forward movement overthe several racing tables 14 owing 4to the varying speed with which thesaid tables are actuated by the different players.

A barrier 80. in the form of a rod or the like, extends across theseveral tables 14 immediately in front of the race horses or objects 15,and against the said barrier 80 when in lowermost position abut theheads of the race horses 15 so that the latter are prevented frommovingl forward over the tables 14'until the barrier 80 is raised. Thebarrier 80 is of the same construction as the one shown and described inthe Letters Patent above referred to, so that further description of thesame is not deemed necessary, it being sufficient to state that the endsof the barrier are attached to vertically extending rods 81 pressedupward by a spring 82 but normally held against upward movethe rods 81is provided with an arm 90 controlling a spring-pressed rod 91 foroperating an arm 92 on a ligure 93 representing the starter and mountedon a stand 94. The

arm 92 carries a flag 95 so that when the barrier moves up, the arm 92and the l'lag 9,5 swing down, race is on.

In o rder to indicate which of the racing objects 15 first reaches theAend 17 -the corresponding racing table 14 and wins the race, use ismade of an annunciator and stopping devices 101, one for each racingtable 14 and located at the forward end 17 thereof. The stopping device101 .is mounted on spring-pressed rods; 102 and is provided' with atriangularly shaped, circuit closer 103 adapted to make contact throughcontact plates 104 and 105 connected by the usualwires 106 and 107 withthe annunciator 100. Thus when a racing object 15 thus` indicating thatthe abuts against the stopping d evice 101 it- 4moves the latter forwardagalnst the tention of its spring rods 102, and the contact 103 finallymoves into engagement with the contact plates 104 and 105 thus closingthe circuit for the annunciator 100, which indicates the number of -thewinner of the race, the number corresponding to the number on thecorresponding operating disk 48.

Instead ofA using the actuating means above described, use may be'madeof an electric" motor for each racing table 14 (see F-igs. 7 and8). Theshaft 121 of this electric motor 120 is provided with a pinion 122 inmesh with a gear wheel 123 having a wrist pin 124 connected by a pitman125 with a bracket` 126 attached to the under side of the racing table14. In the circuit of theelectric motor 120 is arranged a rheostat 130underl the control of a player tu control the speed of the correspondingmotor so that the motor for each racing table 14 can be run at a speedto. suit the player and hence one player may begenabled to move theracing object faster over the table than another, the ,same as abovedescribed relatively to the several players rotating the crank disks 48at different speeds.

The operator in charge of the race game apparatus stops the movement ofthe several tables as soon as one racingy object 15 has reached the goaland won the race, and for this purpose the following arrangementreference to Figs. 32 and 9.

is made, special reference being had to Figs.

3 and 9: On-.each -of the shafts 41 is secured a brake wh'eel 140adapted to be engaged at its peripheral face by abrake band 141 havingone end 142 secured to the. stand 10. The other end 143 of the brakeband 141 is engaged by a'collar 144 secured on a rod 145 extendinglengthwise within the stand 10 so as to engage all the brake bands,'aswill"`be readily understood by is mounted on the rod 145`and presseswith its ends lagainst the ends 142 and 143 of the kbrake band y141 tonormally hold each brake band in open position. One end of the rod V145is pivotally connected with a A s ring 146- hand lever 1:47 under thecontrol of the operator in charge of the apparatus. The lever 147 isfulcrumed at its lower end at 148 on a notched segment 149 attached tothe stand 10, and the said lever extends through amslot 150 arranged inthetop 11 of the stand 10 at the rear end thereof. u Nor# mally thebrake bands-141 are in open posi-- tion but as soon as one of the racingobjects 15 reaches the goal then the operator imparts a swingingmotionto the hand lever 147 to the 'right to shift the rod 145 in the samedirection thereby engaging the brake bands 141 with the brake wheels 140to brake the shafts 41 and thus gradually bring the tables 14 to a stop.f It is understood that the `several playersfcease to rotate the crankdisks 48 as soon as the brake bands are applied. 1 y

The hand lever 147 is adapted to be locked in braking position by a pawl151 fulcrumed on the lever` 147 and engaging the notched I segment 149.The pawl 151 is connected by a spring-pressed rod 152 with a releasinglever 153 ful'crumed on the hand lever 147 f to allow the operator incharge to release the lever 147 whenever it isf desired to release thebrake band 141 from thebrake wheels 140. For the apparatus equipped withmotors 120, use is made of a 'switch 160 -(see Fig.. 8) under.' thecontrol of the operator in charge oiihe apparatus for breaking the motorcircuits of the several motors` -simultaneously to stop. the movement ofthe shown in Fig. 1, and then the operator actu# ates the shaft 85V toraise the barrier 80 and to cause the starter 93 to drop the 4flag 95thus indicating to the several players to start rotating the crank disksto cause the tables 14 to swing forward and backward laces the racingobjects 15 on the lla and up on the forward movement, and down at thereturn movement, so that the racing objects l5 are caused to travelforward on the tables 14 and,with more or less speed according to thespeed given to the tables 14., As each racing table has unobstructedforward and backward reciprocating motion,

. the skill of each player is necessary for prop-` 'the race and removedfrom the corresponding table. As soon as one of the racing objectsreaches the end 17 of its table first then the race is won by suchracing object and the fact is announced by the annunciator 100 by theaction of the racing object engaging the stopping device 101. It isunderstood that the annunciator is provided with a bell topsound analarm as soon as the race is won. As soon as the alarm is sounded, theoperator in charge of the apparatus" throws the brake lever 14:7 over tothe right to stop the movement of the tables 14 simultaneously, aspreviously explained.

Having thusl described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. Anamusement apparatus, comprising a plurality of racing tablesadapted to move unobstructedly forward and backward, actuating meanscontrolled by the players and having mechanical connections withl thesaid racing tables to move the latter forward and backward independentlyone of the other and the same distance during each stroke, the speed ofthe said actuating means being controlled by the different players, andracing objects, one for each table and placed on the rear ends of theracing tables to travel intermittently forwardly on imparting motion tothe said tables.

2. A n amusement apparatus, comprising a plurality of racing tablesarranged one alongside the other and adapted to move unobstructedlyforward and backward and one independent of the other, a series ofactuating means under the control of the diderent players and-havingcrank connections with corresponding racing tables to move the latterforward and backward the same distance at each stroke and at a speed tosuit the different players and racing objects, one for each table,andgfplaced at the rear ends of the racin tables to travelintermittently forwardly uring the return strokes of the racing tables.

3. An amusement apparatus, comprising a plurality of racing tablesarranged one alongside the other and mounted to move unobstructedlyforward and backward and one independent of the other, actuating meansfor each racing tablev and controlled by different players to impartmotion to the racing tables at a 'speed to suit neach individua-lplayer, racing objects, one for each table and placed on the rear 3Lends.of the racing tables to travel intermittently forwardly during thereturn strokes of the racing tables, and automatic annunciators, one foreach table and having circuit-closing members at the forward ends ofthevsaid racing tables and` in the paths of thesaid racing objects forany one of the latter to actuate the corresponding annunciator on theracing object reaching the forward end of the corn responding racingtable.`

4:. An amusement apparatus, comprising a plurality of narrow racing'/tables, fixed separating partitions between adjacent racing Itables andextending above the surfaces thereof, independent actuating means foreach racing table and controlled by diderent players to impart a forwardand backward motion to the rac/ing tables at a speed to suit eachindividuall player, and racing objects, one for each racing table andplaced on the rear ends of the racing tables to travel intermittentlyforwardly thereon during the return strokes of the racing tables.

5. An amusement apparatus, comprising longitudinally extendingpartitions dividing the top into aseries of spaces, a plurality ofracing tables extending unobstructedly in the said spaces and mounted onthe said stand to move unobstructedly forward and backward, actuatingdevices independent one of the other and one for each racing table, theactuating devices being `controlled by dierent players to impart motionto the tables at speeds to suit each individual player, and racingobjects, one for each table and placed on the rear ends of thesaidracing tables to travel forwardly thereon during the return strokesof the racing tables.

6. An amusement apparatus, comprising a' stand having an o en topprovided with longitudinally exten ing partitions dividing a standhaving anl open top provided with having members at the forward ends ofthe racing tables and in the path of the racing objects to actuate theannunciator on a racing object reaching the forward end of its racingtable.

Y 7. An amusement apparatus, comprising a stand having an open topprovided with longitudinally extending partitions dividing the top intoa series of spaces, a plurality of racing tables extendingunobstructedly in the said spaces and fmounted on the said stand to moveunobstructedly forward and backward, actuating devices independent oneof the other. and one for each racing table, each actuating device hav-Aing a crank shaft, a pitman connecting the crank shaft with thecorresponding racing table, a gearing for driving the said crank shaft,and a crank handle for each gearing, the several crank handles beingcontrolled by different players to impart motion to the tables at speedsto suit each individual. player, and racing objects, onefor each tableand placed on the rear ends *ofl the said rac-v ing tables to travelforwardly thereon during the return strokes of the racing tables.

8. An amusement apparatus, comprising a plurality of racing tablesarranged one alongside the other and mounted to move unobstructedlyforward and backward and one independent of the other, actuating meansfor each racing table and controlled by different players to impartmotion to the racing tables at a speed to suit each individual player,racing objects, one for each 35 table and placed on -the rear ends ofthe racing tables to travel intermittently forwardly during the returnstrokes of the racing tables, and means for simultaneously stopping themovement of the several racing tables as soon as one of the racingelements has reached the forward end of its racin table first.

9. amusement apparatus, comprising a i plurality of narrow racingtables, separating partitions between adjacent racing tables andextending above the vsurfaces thereof, independent actuating means foreach racing table and controlled by different players to In testimonywhereof I have signed my i name to this specification in the presence oftwo subscribm witnees. RIC RD MORIS BRENNER.

Witnesses: JANE BRENNER, Rosm'ra K. Golnnon'r.

